Barbados / History, Population, Politics

History

The first inhabitants of Barbados were Amerindians who paddled across from South America. Initially it was Arawak Indians, who were followed by the more warlike Caribs (from whom the name Caribbean derives), who were thought to have driven the Arawaks off the island, but left it themselves in the early 1600’s. When Portuguese sailors visited the island around 1537 in search of gold, they found a small population of Amerindians, and named the island Los Barbados, after the Bearded Fig Trees that they found on the island. 

The English first arrived in 1625 when Captain John Powell sailed in and claimed the island in the name of King James I of England. He returned with 80 colonists in 1627, landing in the area now known as Holetown. The annual Holetown Festival is held to commemorate this event. Over the next 20 years the population blossomed, helped by unrest in England due to the struggles between Charles I and Oliver Cromwell, and many English settlers arrived to escape the troubles. Sugar was introduced to the island in the 1640’s and by 1660 the industry was thriving. The introduction of sugar cane as the main crop and its subsequent success brought massive importation of slaves from Africa. 

The first Parliament was held in 1639, making the Barbados Parliament the third oldest in the Commonwealth, after the British House of Commons and the Bermuda House of Assembly. After the emancipation of the slaves in 1834 and the subsequent introduction of sugar beet in Europe, the island’s sugar industry gradually went into decline. In the twentieth century Barbados moved toward the formation of an independent society with enfranchisement of women in 1944 and universal adult suffrage in 1951. A two party system and a cabinet government emerged during the 1950's, and in 1966, led by the late Errol Walton Barrow of the D.L.P., Barbados was granted independence from Britain on November 30th. 

Politics 

Barbados became independent from Britain on 30th November 1966. The island is a parliamentary democracy with a 29 seat House of Assembly and a 21 seat Upper House or Senate. Barbados is currently led by the Hon Freundel Stuart of the Democratic Labour Party, who was sworn in as Prime Minister of Barbados on 23 October 2010 following the untimely death of the Hon David Thompson, QC, MP. The Democratic Labour Party was elected to power in January 2008 under the leadership of David Thompson, with a comfortable majority of 20 of the 29 seats in Parliament. The main opposition party is the Barbados Labour Party, which was in power for three electoral terms until 2008.

Barbados has the third oldest Parliament in the English-speaking world, which was established in 1639. The country is a member of the Commonwealth, and still has the Queen as head of state, who is represented by the Governor General. The Hon Elliot Belgrave, a retired High Court Judge was sworn in as acting Governor General of Barbados on 1 November 2011 following the retirement of Sir Clifford Straughn Husbands, GCMG, KA.

Population

Barbados has a population of approximately 270,000 of which 80% are of African descent, 4% of European descent and 16% of mixed race. The literacy rate is approximately 98%.